Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Cambodia's injustice: One can be killed for being an opposition activist or being related to one

Relative of an opposition activist assassinated

15 July 2007
By Sophorn
Radio Free Asia

Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

A SRP official from Prey Veng province said that one of his relatives was assassinated by an unknown killer at 4:00 AM on 15 July, and he charged that the motive of the killing is political.

Chhay Sary, SRP Kompong Prasat commune councilor and son of the victim, told RFA on Sunday that at 4:00 AM on that same day, Dok Hul, his 70-year-old mother living in Ta Huy village was assassinated by an unknown person who axed her on the head 6 to 7 times, and once on her back, killing her on the spot.

He added that at the beginning of 2007, a group of people wanted to kill him once already, but he was able to flee. He said that the murder attempt on him, and the killing of his mother were because he is a SRP activist, and he receives a lot of support from the villagers.

Chhay Sary said: “This is a political issue, in 2006, they attempted once (on my life) but they did not succeed, now they succeeded (in killing) my mother at her home. Only the CPP can do this, there are no other political parties that can take this action. I am involved in politics, I am a SRP activist.”

In response to Chhay Sary, Sam Saret, the CPP Kompong Prasat commune chief, recognized that Chhay Sary is a good man who never had a fight with other people, but that the killing of his mother is not political.

He added that the authority is investigating this murder to find the assassin to bring to justice. “I understand that Chhay Ry was a SRP candidate for the commune councilor, this is his political rights. But Chhay Ry is also a good man, who is popular, and his mother never had a fight with anybody else because she was very nice. And I am certain that this case is not involved with politics at all…”

Men Makara, the Adhoc human rights official for the Prey Veng province, said that because the murder took place during the weekend, he cannot provide any opinion yet on this case.

However, Men Makara said that the number of murders has increased in 2007 as compared to the same period in 2006, and that there are two political murders committed on SRP activists since the commune election.

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